|
|
|
 Sent
to you
by e-mail
|
|
Simply
enter your details and hit the send button
more
info |
|
Click Here
Links
Advertise
Terms of Use
Contributors
About Us
Contact Us
|
 |
Go back
| Bookmark
| Print Page 
| E-Mail Us 
 
Photo: G. Bradley
|
|
UK
Safari Tip:
Get help identifying shrews, mice, voles and other land mammals with this
fully illustrated ID chart - click here
|
|
Latin name: Sorex minutus
Size: Approximately 60mms from tip of nose to base of tail. The tail is around 40mms long.
Distribution: Found throughout the UK.
Months seen: All year round.
Food: Spiders, insects and woodlice.
Habitat: Woods and hedgerows.
Special features: This is the smallest mammal found in the UK. It is in fact smaller than some of our insects, and can sometimes be found sleeping in the burrows of some beetles.
Having such a tiny body, the pygmy shrew needs to consume food at regular intervals in order to maintain its body temperature. In fact it needs to eat every two hours otherwise it may die. For this reason, when you see one they are usually frantically searching for their next meal.
 A fully grown pygmy shrew is around a quarter of the size of a house mouse. The average weight is around 4 grams - about the same as a penny coin.
The breeding season lasts from April through to August. Females usually produce between two and eight young per litter, in an underground nest. Since the gestation period is just over three weeks, they can have up to five litters in one year.
In the autumn they put on a thicker coat of fur, but this is no guarantee of surviving the cold winter months. They are often referred to as "annuals" since their life span, at best, is around 15 months.
UK Safari Mammal Section
|
|
|
